Libyan Revolutionaries closing in on Tripoli

Libyan opposition forces claim to have advanced closer to the Libyan capital Tripoli, cutting off vital supply lines to the government’s stronghold.

The anti-Gaddafi fighters said they have captured the strategic town of Ghariyan south of Tripoli, Reuters reported.

They also claimed taking control of the town of Sorman, 60 kilometers west of the capital.

Meanwhile, the fighters said they have seized most of the city of Zawiyah, which is located some 50 km west of the capital.

“Our forces totally control Zawiyah, which will open the way to Tripoli. This will allow the population there to revolt,” the Transitional National Council’s envoy to Paris, Mansur Saif al-Nasr, said on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the revolutionaries’ western military council says Tripoli’s supply lines from Tunisia have all been severed.

Libya has been the scene of intense fighting between government troops and revolutionary forces since a revolution seeking to topple the country’s embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi began in mid-February.

Over the past six months, thousands have reportedly been killed in clashes between Libyan revolutionary forces and pro-Gaddafi troops.